Larry and Atsuko Fish and their Fish Family Foundation have collaborated with BGCB for more than a decade to provide global learning opportunities to more than 500 teens through Experiential Travel Programs. Nearly half of these members earned a two-week trip to India, Japan, or Native American reservations. BGCB took three trips in FY19, and plans to add more in coming years.
For Yawkey Club of Roxbury alumna Temi Ashorobi, the biggest takeaway from her time in BGCB’s Experiential Travel Program to India was an appreciation for what is different. The most important differences she came to appreciate? The ones in herself.
“When the program began, I was always very aware that I looked different than other people and that my name was different,” said Temi. “These differences made it hard to accept myself, but by gaining exposure to life in India, beyond the norms of the United States, I realized the beauty of diversity in the world. This made me grateful for who I am, and I’ve appreciated myself because of my differences ever since.”
International travel had always been something Temi avoided, but her experience with BGCB gave her the confidence to take her own trip to Nigeria, from where her family originates.
“After I traveled to Nigeria, I realized the many luxuries that life in the United States affords me,” continued Temi. “This made me feel grateful, but it also made me very hungry to take advantage of the opportunities I had, especially academically.”
Six years later, Temi is a graduate of Johnson C. Smith University, having achieved the highest GPA among a class of 150 students studying social work, has earned her Master of Social Work at Howard University, and has landed her first job as a social worker.
